Tetraalkylphosphonium salt groups attached to a pendant group of a cross-linked polymer are novel. The cross-linked polymers are thermally stable and they are insoluble in known organic solvents, but they are swellable in many solvents and are permeable to many solutions. These properties make them admirably suited for uses such as anion exchange materials or in the cases where the phosphonium salt group is sufficiently basic, (e.g., hydroxide, alkoxides, phenoxides, cycloalkoxides) as insoluble catalysts for the preparation of glycol ethers or for polymerization of epoxides. Use of cross-linked phosphonium salt resins as catalysts for glycol ether synthesis and for polymerization catalysts obviates the necessity of removing catalyst from the glycol ethers and from the epoxide polymers and therefore substantially eliminates the problem of color removal, which is associated with the use of conventional caustic catalysts in glycol ether formation and the polymerization of epoxides.